The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1887-01-12
establishment
establishment
''Half Of these men, said the deputy, "have
families somewhere in the states. Dye think
they'd dare cut up SO therel No sir-eel
They're just like boys let out Of school out
bara
CHAPTER XXX.

CHAPTER XXX.
SILENT WITNESSES.
BronrNr came up the next day and gave the
requir,,d JAIL for my appearance. Ipreferred
remnining in the county town to returning
to Full Bar There was but week to wait,
as the counsy court then convened.
Zone thing troubles me very much," said
to Broener; 81 can't give my story concerning
this matter without revealing in open court
the secret Of the Banks whereabouts, and
then thera'll be general rush for the mine
from the whole county"
''rve bought over that" he replied "Of
course yol must tell I'll, whole story, and
show in court rich specimens of the quartz to
prove it. That, in fact, will be your strong
est defense. A miners jury will think such
claim worth defending, with or without
law. Let them swoop down on our ground.
As I've told you before the cream Of that
particular vein we've taken out. It's only a
pocket We can hold on to hundred feet
or so anyway I've put up notices claiming
such amount The crowd will, of course,
take up all the quartz outcroppings they can
find far and near. There'll be a tremendous
excitement for time. But the masses know
nothing of this sort Of mining. 1t will battle
them. They'll lose patience after a little.
There will be a reaction. Hve-sixths will
abandon and give up their claims The re-
mainder will persevera and eventually de-
velop this species of mining, which will be-
come extensively followed. But that will
take time-years So tell all about it, Don't
let that trouble you in the least"
My trial came on, and the case being called
I appeared without any lawyer to conduct
my defense. The judge assigned one, young
member of the bar, for that purpose.
I said desired to conduct my own defense,
and was allowed SO to do. My counsellor was
not at all pleased thereat. Having heard
something Of our resources he had seen in
prospective some remuneration If he con-
Quoted the case successfully, as well as pos
sibility of establishing reputation for a
good criminal lawyer
1 thought could tell my story as well as
have another tell it for me, and didn't
want lawyer to tell any new stories for me
or put any shades Of color on mine which did
not belong there. Could prove my asser-
tions7 No. There were no witnesses to any
hostile meeting between Pratt and myself.
The evidence against Inc was all circum-
stantial In other words certain events,
as interpreted by certain individuals,
were regarded as proofs that John
Holder might have tried to kill Jededish
Pratt. Because John Holder and Jedediah
Pratt had quarrel last week, John Holder
might have tried to kill Pratt the next Be-
cause no one could tell how Pratt got his
hurts, why, John Holder might have inflicted
them. Because John Holder was seen the
evening Pratt was missed, with blood on his
clothing, it Is inferreI it was Pratt's blood,
drawn in ennity. Because John Holder was
the firss to find Pratt on the mountain, 1t Is
inferred that John Holler knew of the affair
more than he told, and because he knew more
than he told, it is inferred that he must have
tried to kill Pratt.
ALI these ''might-have-beens" were ably in
terpreted to the jury as must have-beens"
by the district attorney, who, naturally thirst
ed for my blood, because he desired to make
a brilliant reputation as an able prosecutor
of the innocent or guilty. He dwelt strongly
also on the fact that there were neither
notices nor tools on the ground, and that
'claiined the whole mountain" or great deal
more ground than could legally hold. These
were Pratt's rawlings which had been reported
to him. True, these were not legal evidence,
but he used them as arguments against me,
taking the chances that the jury might be
stupid enough to receive them as such, or
that they might forget, even if reminded,
that Pratt's words, not backed up by proof,
were no more evidence than mine would be-
He pictured me as dogging Pratt day by day
OF my interfering and meddling in this "hon-
est, hard working r.islIis btississ5a n;.s lvslt
on my ''skulking ambush in the bushes, the
sassassins shot, and the fall of the innocent,
honest victim" Then l, to cover up the affair
and divert suspicion, assume the guise of the
Good Samaritan, pretended to find Pratt and
bring him home.
Lastly, he adverted to my habits as ''sus-
piciousn-working little and loafing much,
absent frequently, on what business no one
knew, but all the while infeTing, by hint
and inuendo, that l might be or must be
both terms being by him made to mean about
the same thing engaged in some disreputable
business
1t y the boast of Law that all facts alleged
against person mus+ be proven; yet the law
makes little provision against slander by in
ference in open court, by its own ministers,
which cannot he proven.
Setter and Long Mac were summoned as
witnesses ones, now, with the
memory of their recent unsuccessful attempts
on me. They testified to seeing blood on my
clothing. Setter told the story of my par
ticipation in guiding himself and Hillyear to
the spot where Pratt lay wounded on the
mountain.
The attorney had the audacity to put Hill
year on the stand, mainly with the view that
he should give Pratts version of the story as
inferred from his delirious utterances. did
Not attempt to stop this hearsay evidence at
ALL / wanted the lawyer to have his own
way entirely, because | thought in such
case he would all the quicker get through,
and leave the jury with II fragment, at least,
of clear mind. II We got into a wrangle as to
the admissbility Of evidence it would pro-
long the ease, and in law it is often the main
object, on one side, at least to so confuse and
wear out the jury that it won't know the
difference between right and wrong, sense
and nonsense
Finally he had finished, and l remained
with n very black character indeed-in short,
the assassin of Pratt and, by inference, the
author of half the untraced murders in the
county for the last four months. l said to
the jury that should make no plea, but
simply tell my story FRS, was the keeper
and, to an extent, worker of II rich claim-a
very rich claim. 1t was mine of n sort not
generally known in the state No laws had
been made to hold claims of this character.
| will introduce now,' ! said, my witnesses
as to the reality and existence of this claim;
and taking from IL haG several of the richest
specimens of quartz gold, l handed them to
the jury
The specimens were indeed good to look at
from every point of view. The yellow metal
protruded in places from their sides in thin
flakes-in Others it was if solid, heavy
nuggets were embedded in the stone. The
effect on the jury was electric. They had
never seen such rock. Their eyes gls-